Notes On Noah Syndergaard's Curveball

During a recent interview with Mets Minor League Blog's Toby Hyde, pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard made this intriguing remark when asked about his repertoire:

"The Blue Jays taught me a slider towards the end of the season. My curveball's about 69 or 70 miles an hour, which is kind of slow and it's real loopy. It didn't really do much, it was just a show me pitch. And then they taught me a slider and it sped my arm up, I really don't know how it did that, but it actually sped my curveball up as well. I got my curveball up to around 79-80 miles an hour, it was actually a plus pitch for me."

Syndergaard also said that his two best pitches were his fastball and his change-up, which matches the scouting reports on the tall Texan. He can pump his fastball up into the high nineties, and according to Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus, his change-up flashed plus in 2012 and is a potential 6 (plus) pitch

The one black mark against Syndergaard as a prospect has been the development of his breaking ball. In their scouting report on Syndergaard, Baseball America said the pitch was "inconsistent and eventually may develop into a slider, but it gets outs and features good spin." If the curveball continues to develop and becomes a third potential plus pitch, Syndergaard could shoot up prospect lists by the end of this season.

John Sickels also got reports that Syndergaard's curveball was improving in 2012, and referred to it as "underrated" in his entry on Syndergaard for his 2013 Prospect Handbook.

Syndergaard is tabbed to start the 2013 season with the St. Lucie Mets, joining fellow noteworty prospect arms, Domingo Tapia, Michael Fulmer, and Hansel Robles at the Advanced-A affiliate. He is the best bet to move the fastest of the four, so Mets fans willing to make the trek up I-86 to Binghamton might be able to catch a glimpse of the odds-on favorite to top 2014 Mets Prospect lists.

Here's Toby's interview with Noah Syndergaard in its entirety: